Backup Computer Data Options
by Benjamin Twist, Demand MediaBacking up your computer data is important in business and personal life. Though it often seems like a difficult, time-consuming and expensive process, regularly storing copies of computer data may prevent the loss of irreplaceable documents and information. Factors to consider include the stability and durability of the medium, cost per gigabyte (GB) of storage and data transfer speed.
Internal Hard Drives
An internal hard drive is simply an extra hard drive in your computer that can be set aside entirely for backup purposes. Backup drives often contain specialized backup software used to manage data storage options and schedule automatic backups. Another option, called "mirroring," sets the computer to save any file changes to the backup drive any time you save changes on your primary drive. Though more difficult to set up, mirroring is a fast and convenient method that is sometimes offered as an upgrade on new computers. One problem with internal backup drives is that they are the same kind of hardware as primary hard drives and so are vulnerable to the same possibilities of failure and data corruption over time.
External Hard Drives
External hard drives connect to your computer by means of a USB, FireWire or eSATA (external serial ATA) cable. External drives have significantly slower data transfer speeds than internal drives, but they are far more portable and usually easier to set up. Like internal drives, they are susceptible to corruption or failure over time.
Flash Drives
Flash drives have a relatively small capacity and slow data transfer speed. They do not require any setup, making them convenient for frequent backups of relatively small quantities of important data. Their tiny size also makes them easy to transport and store safely.
Optical Drives
Optical media (CDs, DVDs, HD-DVDs and Blu-ray discs) have relatively low capacity and slow transfer speed compared with other backup media. CDs can hold up to 700MB, DVDs up to 8.5GB, HD-DVDs up to 30GB and Blu-ray discs up to 50GB. Optical discs and drives are expensive, but the discs are portable and, if stored correctly, more stable than magnetic storage (such as hard drives).
Online Storage
Online backup services store your data remotely, often providing a small amount of free storage or a much greater capacity for a monthly fee. Since they store your data independently and completely off-site, it is not susceptible to the hazards that may threaten your home or workplace. Some may hesitate, however, to entrust their most critical data to a third party, and data upload times are far slower than the data transfer rates of any other backup method.
